Donny van de Beek's frustrations boiled over as he was spotted throwing chewing gum in the direction of the Manchester United technical area during the 2-1 victory over Villarreal.
The 24-year-old was named on the bench for the seventh time in nine games this season and clearly hoped to make an appearance in the second half of the Champions League fixture with United searching for a winner.
To Van de Beek's dismay, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer turned instead to defensive midfielder Nemanja Matic in the 75th minute before throwing on Fred and Jesse Lingard with seconds remaining.
While the duo were preparing to enter the fray, Van de Beek needed to be calmed down by his teammates while venting his fury at his latest snub.
The playmaker covered his mouth as he spoke to Eric Bailly, who was next to him on the bench, and goalkeeper Dean Henderson patted him on the back.
Moments later, he took his chewing gum out of his mouth in disgust and tossed it towards the dugout. Although he was not aiming for anyone in particular, he narrowly missed assistant manager Mike Phelan.
Solskjaer's substitutions were soon vindicated as Fred and Lingard set up Cristiano Ronaldo to score a 95th-minute winner, but Van de Beek was a noticeable absentee from the emphatic celebrations by the corner flag.
Van de Beek's situation at United
Van de Beek's visible fury lays bare his frustrations under Solskjaer as chances continue to prove hard to come by for the former Ajax man, who joined United for an initial fee of £35million last year.
He has only played six minutes of Premier League football this season, making a brief cameo in the 4-1 victory over Newcastle United in mid-September.
Van de Beek struggled to earn regular minutes last campaign due to Bruno Fernandes' undroppable status and competition has only become more fierce in recent months.
The Red Devils signed Jadon Sancho from Borussia Dortmund for £73million this summer and Jesse Lingard returned to the club after a successful loan spell with West Ham United.
Lingard certainly appears to be above Van de Beek in Solskjaer's pecking order and he has already chipped in with two goals in three appearances in the Premier League.
The England international played a vital role in Ronaldo's winner against Villarreal, latching onto the Portugal striker's header from Fred's cross and teeing him up to fire beyond Geronimo Rulli.
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Although Van de Beek and Lingard are both natural central attacking midfielders, the latter has benefited from playing out wide in recent fixtures.
Due to Fernandes' stranglehold on the No.10 berth, minutes are more likely to come on either flank for his deputies and Van de Beek may need to abandon his hopes of playing centrally to have any hope of forcing his way into Solskjaer's plans.
